Friday, March 21, 2014

Jewish voice for Peace Hypocrisy Shines through at Northeastern

VP's strategy,
as stated by executive
director Rebecca Vilkomerson, is to create “a wedge” within the Jewish
community to generate the impression of polarization over
Israel.

From Jewish Voice for Peace,
highlighting their hypocrisy, their tenuous grasps of facts, and their
inability to predict the future. This week's theme: the suspension of
Northeastern University's SJP for repeatedly violating university
guidelines.

Over 200 activists from a broad
coalition of human rights and social justice organizations will rally in
solidarity with the Northeastern chapter of Students for Justice in
Palestine (SJP) on Tuesday as two students face disciplinary hearings.

The
protest is a response to the administration's suspension of the
SJP-Northeastern chapter after months of discriminatory restrictions.
Earlier this month, some SJP members distributed a mock eviction notice
(clearly marked as not real) similar to those routinely posted on the
homes of Palestinians before their homes are demolished. The students'
intention was to raise awareness and promote dialogue about human rights
violations. The two SJP members facing sanctions are women of color,
while none of the white students who distributed the leaflets have been
targeted.

"We
condemn the university's strong-arm tactics as blatant violations of
free speech and dangerous attempts to suppress academic debate on
campus," said Lisa Stampnitzky, a member of Jewish Voice for
Peace-Boston, one of the co-sponsoring organizations.

Over 200 "will rally"?
Maybe 50 showed up

To
JVP: Take a dose of inconvenient reality from Michael Armini, Senior
Vice president for External Affairs at Northeastern University

Separately,
two students have been called to a disciplinary hearing for violating
university rules related to allowing unauthorized guests in a residence
hall. While these students are affiliated with the undergraduate SJP
organization, the hearing concerns only the violations of these
residence hall rules. It does not concern the speech or expression of
these students. Contrary to some statements that have been
circulated publicly, these students are not facing suspension or
expulsion, for any reason.

This isn't about "free speech". Its about repeated refusal to abide by university guidelines.

Lisa
Stampnitzky, a member Jewish Voice for Peace-Boston provided a classic
moment of JVP hypocrisy, complaining of "outside pressure" while JVP
marshaled all the outside pressure they could manage. After all, JVP
was one of the outside organizations exerting pressure on the
school-coordinating phone calls, providing sample scripts, and
sponsoring demonstrations.

"Northeastern
caved to behind-the-scenes pressure," said Stampnitzky. "The
administration has shown that it cares more about potential donors and
powerful outside organizations that have put pressure on it than it does
about its students' rights to free speech."

The
JVP email urging its follows to inundate the office of the President of
Northeastern University follows, complete with sample script.

24 Hours to Stand Up to Bullying at Northeastern University

Banning
SJP at Northeastern is the latest assault in an ongoing pattern of
silencing student activists nationwide. Across the country, campus
activists face repression, from legislation targeting the American
Studies Association’s academic boycott vote to spurious discrimination
complaints at the University of California.Call or
email President Aoun today to ask him not to suspend Northeastern SJP:
His email is presidentaoun@neu.edu and his phone number is (617)
373-2101. Please call before 5 PM E.T. on Friday.

Phone calls send a stronger message than emails. If you're willing to make one, please do the following:Call President Aoun using the below sample script. Complete the form at the bottom of this page to confirm that you've made the call, and let us know how it went.

Sample Script

Hello,
this is [your name] from Jewish Voice for Peace. I am calling to
express my concern that the Center for Student Involvement has issued a
suspension of Northeastern University Students for Justice in Palestine.
* This measure constitutes a violation of SJP’s freedom of speech
rights, and is intended to silence their message on campus. * The
suspension of SJP is politically motivated because the University
administration disapproves of SJP’s message and believes it is
potentially divisive. * Northeastern University is bowing to the
pressures of outside interest groups and large donors, rather than
protecting its own student’s fundamental rights. I urge you to reinstate
SJP as an organization and take measures to ensure that this type of
repression does not occur again.

Classic
JVP- short on fact, high on victimhood. After all, in the JVP
playbook, neither the Palestinians nor the Palestinians supporters need
ever play by the rules.